Danks outduels Guthrie, leads White Sox past Orioles

Apr 23, 2009 - 3:16 AM
BALTIMORE (AP) -- In a matchup of two very good starting
pitchers, John Danks outperformed Jeremy Guthrie in almost every
way.

"Danks had three things we were a little short on: He had
command of his pitches, movement and he changed speeds,"
Baltimore manager Dave Trembley said Wednesday night after the
Chicago White Sox pinned an 8-2 loss on Guthrie and the Orioles.

Danks (2-0) allowed one run, four hits and no walks in a
season-high seven innings. The left-hander was so good, Jim
Thome's 545th career home run was merely a footnote in the
lopsided victory.

In three starts this season, Danks has given up only two runs --
both on solo homers. He retired 19 of the final 21 batters, the
exceptions a fifth-inning home run by Luke Scott and a single in
the seventh by Ty Wigginton.

"It's a good game, obviously, on paper, but I didn't have a lot
of fun," Danks said. "After the third, I had 60 pitches and I
was hoping just to get through five, maybe to the sixth. The
goal is to get deeper in the game and get more efficient. As the
game went on, that's what I did."

Guthrie (2-1) gave up five runs and eight hits in six-plus
innings. Baltimore's opening day starter yielded at least one
hit in every inning but the sixth, the only time he retired the
side in order.

"The difference between Jeremy and Danks tonight was location of
the pitches," Trembley said. "Right from the very first inning,
the White Sox made Jeremy work to get outs."

Chicago scored in each of the first three innings to take a 4-0
lead, then coasted to the finish.

"Not my best stuff," Guthrie acknowledged. "It's a real good
ballclub and they put some early runs up there and got some
great pitching from John."

Thome's opposite-field solo shot to left put the White Sox up
4-0 in the third. It was Thome's fourth homer of the season, and
it put the 38-year-old slugger within three of 13th-place Mike
Schmidt on the career list.

Josh Fields went 3-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs for
Chicago, and Chris Getz had three hits, two RBIs and scored
three runs.

"We don't have to rely on just the big boys. Everyone
contributed," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "Getz had a
big game and I am excited about Fields."

Chicago got a first-inning run when Getz led off with a single
and scored on a single by Carlos Quentin.

The White Sox made it 3-0 in the second. Guthrie walked .159
hitter Alexei Ramirez, who stole second and scored on a two-out
single by Getz. An ill-advised throw home by center fielder Adam
Jones allowed Getz to take second, and Fields followed with a
ground-rule double.

"My job is to go out there and put up zeros on the board," Danks
said, "but the runs did help for sure."

Danks retired 11 straight batters before Scott connected to get
Baltimore to 4-1.

After Getz led off the seventh with a single, Fields greeted
Dennis Sarfate with a two-run homer. In the eighth, Brian
Anderson doubled in a run and Getz followed with a sacrifice
fly.

Wigginton hit a run-scoring grounder in the ninth against Matt
Thornton.

Notes: The crowd of 10,868 on a chilly night barely surpassed
the Camden Yards record low of 10,507, last April against Tampa
Bay. ... Danks improved to 9-3 lifetime on the road, and
recorded his eighth career pickoff, against Brian Roberts in the
first inning. ... Orioles RHP Alfredo Simon will undergo
season-ending elbow ligament replacement surgery soon, club
president Andy MacPhail said. ... Baltimore's Nick Markakis got
two hits and is batting .417 during a nine-game hitting streak.